A non-marring clip nut is described which has a plastic sleeve having an upstanding annular boss on the sleeve. The plastic sleeve fits onto the lower arm of the clip nut and allows a plate to be inserted between the two arms of the clip nut without scratching or marring the surface of the plate.
Clip nuts have found a wide acceptance because they hold a nut in place behind a panel or other similar flat surface to which another panel or other flat surface is being joined. Several designs of clip nuts are known, including those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,118,480 and 3,145,753. Aside from simply holding a nut, it has also been found desirable to engineer into the clip nut a means for maintaining the clip nut in exact position on a plate or surface prior to insertion of the bolt which will secure the final assembly. Thix can be done by providing on the clip nut an annular boss which will fit into a hole drilled into one of the surfaces to be attached and thus holds the clip nut in position for receiving the attaching screw or bolt.
Clip nuts are generally mass produced and manufactured to be very inexpensive. Normally if the clip nut is provided with an annular boss for holding the nut in position on a surface, this annular boss is simply punched from the surface of the clip nut. Because of this the annular boss more often than not will have burrs or irregularities in its surface and when the clip nut is slid onto a plate or other surface the irregularities or burrs will scratch the surface.
In many instances it is deemed highly disadvantageous to have the surface of the plate scratched by inserting the clip nut on the plate. If the surface of the plate has been anodized, scratches through the protective or decorative film so anodized onto the plate by the clip nut will destroy the properties of the material so coated on the plate.